Sense of Resonsibility

What gives a person a sense of responsibility, a sense of duty,
a sense of "should", "ought to", "have to", "must"? The
Spanish word "deber" may give some insight into this question.
It means "to owe" and it also means "must", "have to", "ought
to". Its primary meaning of "to owe" has been expanded to mean
"to owe it to oneself" (Duff. Spanish for Beginners. p. 95).
Can we say a person's sense of responsibility or duty comes as
a feeling of "owing something to oneself", of doing something
that is necessary for his own soul, doing something that is
required by his own inner self? If so where does this demand
of his inner self come from? Why do some people have a lot
stronger sense of responsibility and duty than other people do?
What is the connection between this and the moral standards
that one sets up for oneself? To what extent does one set up
moral standards for himself and to what extent are moral
standards built into a person when he is born (i.e. to what
extent are moral feelings and conscience learned or personally
chosen or elected and to what extent is it innate)?
Nov 1983
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